


Before the Stars Went Missing

by eerieEllyllon



Series: Finding Stars Series [1]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Cannibalism, Demigods, Drowning, F/F, F/M, Gen, Gore, Humanstuck, It has to be a really ###### up world I'm so sorry, M/M, Magic, Make a contract with a spirit and save the world, Multi, Okay so this is actually going to be pretty dark, Written descriptions of death and corpses
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-23
Updated: 2016-10-15
Packaged: 2018-08-16 21:34:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8118364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eerieEllyllon/pseuds/eerieEllyllon
Summary: They were bound to this land. Its fate was theirs, and with its last breath they would disappear. 
In a dying world, twelve gods make contracts with humans, granting them the power necessary to save this land. Even with their newfound power, seeking each other out and fixing this corrupted, rotted world is not an easy task.





	1. Chapter One: The Considering Gods

The land they watched over was dying, that much was clear to the spirits. Little by little, plants ceased to grow. The death toll of each day far exceeded those who were being born, and the majority of children born only lived so long before dying ever so young. The people were corrupted, and many injustices went unpunished. Before long, they knew this would be a dead land where nothing could live.

The twelve spirits considered their options. They certainly couldn't leave, they were bound to this land. Its fate was theirs, and with its last breath they would disappear. They needed to fix things, but in their current forms they were unable to influence anything strongly. They couldn't do this on their own.

In the end, they concluded that the only way was for them to grant humans their power, and let them restore this land. It would take time to find those worthy of being their hosts, but the chosen ones would have to agree to a contract with the gods. There were requirements the humans would have to accept, but with all the power being offered to them, they doubted the humans would mind those terribly.

The chosen humans, upon making the contract and absorbing the gods, would first have to seek out the eleven other demigods. Once they had joined together, they would have to fix this country and prevent its upcoming downfall. Lastly, once everything was said and done, they would each have to bear children.

The gods didn't want to disappear, which made the last step entirely necessary. Once handing over their power they would fall into a deep sleep, and it would take reincarnation to regain their true forms once more. That's why they were required to reproduce, with anyone but another demigod, so that the gods could reincarnate in the form of their first born children.

A few of the gods rejected this idea at first, Doom and Rage in particular were against it. However, when they could not come up with a better plan, they reluctantly agreed. The twelve separated, looking for their targets and putting their plan into action.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was a very short first chapter, I know, and none of the beta troll characters even showed up! I apologize for this, but I felt it was necessary to post this first as its own chapter to set up context and the like for the rest of the series. However, because of this I will be posting the second chapter in just a moment. 
> 
> This was actually going to be a prequel to another fanfic I'm working on, Finding Stars. However, I ended up deciding to post this one first before that one. Finding Stars is turning out well so far and I'm excited to share it with you, but first I'm going to show you how the world became what it was. 
> 
> Oh, one thing I wanted to note between these two fics, many characters will show up in both despite being centuries apart in their time periods. The reason for this is simple, reincarnation is going to be really important in Finding Stars. The beta trolls here reincarnate in that fic, so you could think of this being about their beforus versions.


	2. Chapter Two: Her Garden

"The outside world is a terrible and dangerous place, you mustn't ever leave this garden."

You've been sheltered and cared for for as long as you could remember. Everything was done for you, your meals made and yourself even dressed by servants. Your mother showered you with affection, saying she would protect her baby daughter at all costs.

Most of the time, you hadn't minded the special treatment. You were able to play with your toys and walk through the garden without a care in the world. However, as you grew older, you kept wondering what was beyond the high stone walls.

"Feferi, you have everything you could ever need here. You're safe here. You needn't bother with anything beyond these walls."

You were pampered every day, but you'd never seen the servants treated so nicely. You asked them all sorts of questions, but they were forbidden to speak with you freely. It hardly felt fair.

There was a younger servant you wanted to be friends with, and you were able to get them to talk with you. You were thrilled by this, and even shared your food with her.  
All you were able to get out of her about the outside world was that people were starving and often the streets were lined with the dead. You couldn't believe it. You were never hungry, no matter what you were always well fed. If they were kept hungry enough to kill them, they've really ought to have someone caring for them too.

The servant girl went missing the next day, and you never saw her again.

When you were sixteen years old, the age where you were officially considered an adult, you were still forbidden to leave this place. Your mother said you were being kept here for your own good, but you weren't so sure anymore. You could surely handle whatever there was out there by now.

You finally decided to sneak out and finally see for yourself what she'd been hiding from you all this time.

You'd seen the servants take your garbage off the property through a gate in the past, and by now you knew well enough how to get it open. When the sun was just barely rising, you slipped out.

At first it wasn't so bad. It certainly wasn't as pretty as your garden, here mostly the plants were shriveled and sick looking. The houses were broken down, the wood visibly rotting and ready to snap and collapse any moment. The ground was dusty and dirty rather than lined with the multicolored pebbles you'd take for granted all this time.  
It got worse when you reached the populated area. The people here looked awful, their limbs so thin you could see the outline of their bones and you feared that they'd break with even the lightest of touches. Many of them were at the point in which they couldn't even walk anymore. Their cheeks were sunken in, and you couldn't bear to look at their eyes. 

Their eyes were the worst, filled with despair, pain, and longing.

There were corpses everywhere. They weren't even able to bury their dead anymore? They left a terrible stench and were in different stages of decay. Flies buzzed all around the bodies, and you watched as a small child was trying to catch and eat the flying insects. In a house you caught sight of a toddler sleeping on a dirty mat, their chest barely rising in their sleep. Beside them on a matching mat, was a dead child the same size as they were.

They were all staring at you as you passed, but they were too tired to do anything about you. They knew you were from the hidden garden, where food was aplenty and things were clean. A few shouted at you, begging for your help, but you made yourself keep walking. You had no food with you, there was nothing you could do right now.

The point in which you could not keep going was when you saw a man and woman eating. They looked crazed, their bodies twitching unnaturally. The woman was crying. They were eating the body of a human child.

You ran back home, unable to look anymore. It was terrible, and you couldn't believe that these people were allowed to live like this. They needed help, and they needed it now.

The first thing you did when you got home was hurry and find your mother, asking of her to provide these people with food at least. She wasn't the least bit concerned for those poor people, rather she was furious at you.

"We have plenty of food, I know we do! Surely we have enough to feed them and have plenty left over for us afterwards."

"You weren't supposed to leave this garden, Feferi. I told you time and time again to stay here with me, and this is how you repay me?" She hissed at you, face scrunching up in rage. It made you nervous, you'd never seen her so mad before, but you weren't about to back down now. More people were going to die if you gave up.

"Well it was wrong of you! It's not right to sit here and pretend people aren't suffering, and you and I both know that we can help them. Have you even seen the village? They're all dying and sick and starving!"

"I'm well aware the state of the village, and that's why I've kept you here," She stepped toward you, but you didn't step back. You stared right at her, your delicate hands curled into fists. "I've been protecting you all this time from the disease and ugliness of the outside world. You weren't supposed to see anything."

"Well, guess what? I'm not a little girl anymore, and I don't need you to protect me anymore!"

She slapped you hard across the face. You stumbled backwards, your hand flying to your cheek in shock. Mother had never lashed out of you like this before. Your eyes welled up with tears you didn't want to be seen with, and you fled to your room to cry.

It wasn't fair, those people deserved better. You wanted to help them. You wanted them to live.

"You wish to help them?" You thought at first you imagined the voice. "If you truly want to, then I can give you the power you need."

You looked up, rubbing at your eyes. Were you seeing things? There was something hovering in front of you. They were overall a soft beige, shimmering light green. The spirit's eyes were blue, gently gazing at you.

"I want to help them."

"Then make the contract."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There we go, a half decent chapter. Hopefully.
> 
> The few few chapters are mostly introductions for the characters, generally about the events leading up to their contracts and/or shortly after they seal the deal. Not all chapters will be super graphic, but some might be worse than this. If a chapter ends up looking particularly bad, I'll place a trigger warning in the notes at the beginning of the chapter and then a safer summary in the end notes.


	3. Chapter Three: Sisters

You've never had the best of luck, but you've always been able to get through all the hard shit life threw at you. You're Vriska Serket, and the world was going to have try a lot harder than that if it wanted to bring you down.

You never knew who your father was, the furthest back you could remember was it being just you and your mom. Mom... She was kind of a bitch, and you didn't get along well. She worked you to the bone gathering what food you could, and was furious when you couldn't bring back enough. Geez, it wasn't your fault food was scarce! If she was so sure there was more out there to get, she should have just gone and got it herself.

Mom got sick when you were six years old, and you both knew that fever was a death sentence. She couldn't walk, couldn't eat... She couldn't even talk. It was disappointing, after her being such a monster for so long, she was going to die like that.

You couldn't stand watching her like that. She was supposed to be big and mean, not weak and fragile. It just wasn't right.

You grabbed the knife from the kitchen and sat down beside her. She was sleeping, but her face was contorted in pain even when she was unconscious. You had to make this fast, had to put her out of her misery.

You hadn't expected there to be so much blood when you cut her throat open.

\- - - - - - - -

You sat curled up in the darkest corner of the room for a long time. The disgusting blood was all over the room, splattered across the room and stained into the rags you wore. Your eyes were squeezed shut, not wanting to see the mess again, but you couldn't block out the scent of copper.

"Finally did it, huh?"

Slowly, taking care that your face was turned away from the center of the room, you opened your eyes.

"Yeah, Terezi, I did," You sighed, rubbing furiously at your eyes. "It's over and we don't need to talk about it anymore."

"I always told you you'd be better off without her," The ginger haired girl sat down on the floor beside you, draping an arm across your shoulders. "She was hardly fair to you."

"Yeah, and now things are going to be just _great._ "

"You don't sound very excited."

"Well, geez, why wouldn't I be excited? The minute those bandits realized the old hag guarding this house is gone, they're gonna tear the place to the ground. Hey, you know what would be fantastic? They could destroy it with me inside and everything will be wonderful."

"Vriska, you don't have to stay here. I didn't stick around when my parents died!"

"You did stick around, stupid. You hung around for two weeks until the stench was too bad for you to stay there." You rolled your eyes.

"Well I was being dumb those two weeks," She huffed, letting her head rest against your shoulder. "Once I got out I saw it was for the best after all. I'm free, Vriska! I can go wherever I want and nobody can tell me what to do. Now you can, too."

"If you say so," You grumbled, pressing your face into your knees.

Terezi paused, considering the situation. She knew you were upset, and you knew she wanted to help, but neither of you knew just what to do yet.

"Hey Vriska?"

"What is it this time?"

"You know that one guy at the end of the street, the one that smells like squirrel crap?"

"What about him?"

"On my way here, I saw him cooking meat."

"And..?"

"If we stole it now, we could keep it all to ourselves."

You finally smiled, a grin crawling across your face. "Let's do it."

\- - - - - - - -

You and Terezi stuck together after that. She was your family, and you were hers. The two of you were an unstoppable duo, traveling from place to place to survive. 

Now, your sister in mayhem had gotten pretty clever over the years. She'd set up games on the edges of busy streets, boasting grand prizes to anyone who could beat her. Thinking winning against a kid would be an easy task, many people payed in their food or money bet and play.

Little did they realize that she'd rigged it so that it was impossible for her to lose. The seed under the cup would be tossed into her lap, and a second seed would fly from the her bandaged wrist beneath another cup. Following the right formula, tic-tac-toe could only end in her winning or in a draw. When flipping a coin she always swapped it when they weren't looking to one that was a scratched on both sides.

One day when the two of you were thirteen years old, trouble happened while playing the seed under the cup game. For the first time, she failed to pull her trick off correctly.

He was a larger customer than you usually got; he was easily more than twice your size. Another unusual thing about that made you uneasy was the fact that he actually looked strong, unlike the walking corpses you were so used to. You didn't like the look of the blade strapped to his back.

You tried to lean up against the wall casually, but every muscle in your body was tensed and ready to run. He was seriously giving you bad vibes, but Terezi didn't seem bothered. She greeted him the same way she did everyone, explaining the rules without hesitating. If he picked the cup with the seed under it after she shuffled them, then he'd win his prize money, bluh blah. She was all business as usual.

He threw in twice what was asked as en entry fee and your eyes went wide. He was asking for twice the amount of prize money, something you knew neither of you had, but fucking shit did you want that money. You had to win this, you had to just once in your life get lucky.

Of course, you didn't, because it’s always been rule of the universe to fuck Vriska Serket over.

She tossed the seed off the side of the box you use for a table, and the little thing landed in her lap. From where you were you could see the act clearly, but you were pretty sure that even then you only saw it because you were looking for it.

Nope, the asshole must have noticed or suspected something was up. "Stop," He said abruptly, and Terezi cautiously stopped her movements. She hadn't thrown in the other seed yet, so currently the was no seed on the play field.

"Is something the matter, sir?" She asked calmly as you clenched your fists. You had a really bad feeling about this.

"Put your hands back and let me see the cups."

"I'm not finished, sir. You need to wait or you'll get no prize."

"I have no qualms with you beginning again, just let me see for myself that I have no reason to distrust you."

Reluctantly, Terezi drew her hands away. You stopped breathing as he reached for the wooden cups, turning them over one at a time. When the final cup was lifted, there was no seed to be seen.

There was a deadly pause as the man saw the truth he feared; you could practically taste the rage brewing.His muscles tensed as he reach for his knife, and you grabbed Terezi's arm and ran for it. Fuck this, fuck everything, and fuck this man in particular.

You didn't have to turn around to know he was chasing after you. You could hear his footsteps and his calling at you thieves to get back there. You don't feel inclined to obey.

Terezi slipped from your grasp halfway down the street. You glanced over your shoulder to see her getting off the ground, apparently having tripped on something. You almost turn around to help her, but the scary man was almost upon you. Adrenalin pumped through your veins and you ran faster.

Terezi would be fine. She's tough and clever and she'd never let anyone get the better of her. She'll surely escape and catch up with you, it’s okay.

You had darted around multiple corners when you realized that she wasn't following you. You'd successfully gotten away from that man, but you must have gotten your sister lost. Great.

You backtrack slowly, cautiously peeking around corners before entering streets. You end up back at the road you'd set up the cup game, and Terezi and the man were nowhere to be seen.

It's okay, you told yourself, no matter what Terezi will definitely find you before long.

\- - - - - - - -

The first night was awful. You hadn't slept all alone in years, and god you hated it. You missed Terezi already, you missed cuddling up to her and sharing your body heat. You missed holding each other's hands when dreams of your mother haunted you. You missed listening to the steady rise and fall of her breath whenever she fell asleep first.

You were cold and upset; You spent more time crying than sleeping.

\- - - - - - - -

Two weeks later, you still hadn't found her. You looked every where you could think of and then some, but you didn't even discover a single clue. It was like she disappeared into thin air. You were scared that something bad had really happened and that it was your fault for not turning around.

You shook your head at that thought, no it's not your fault. You couldn't have turned around, you honestly had no choice! You could have died if you didn't keep running, so it was completely reasonable for you to have kept going.

Did the man kill Terezi?

You stop in your tracks at that thought. It was worse than thinking she could've gotten hurt because of you, and far too painful to accept. She's alive and okay, and you're destined to meet again. After all, you're sisters and are meant to be together until the end of time!

Three weeks after she went missing, you leave town. Maybe she had stuck to the plan and had gone ahead of you, so you sure as hell didn't want to keep her waiting any longer.

\- - - - - - - -

You were on your own for three years. Three. Fucking. Years.

It had taken an embarrassingly short time for you to adjust to doing things on your own. You took on the task of finding food solo, and without Terezi's games you took on occasionally pick pocketing when resources were scarce (which was almost all the time).

Sure, you got caught time to time trying to steal shit. All that happened was you getting the shit beaten out of you, but without them intending to murder your ass. It was painful, but without your life in peril you never considered stopping your habits.

You discovered a lively little bar, at least a dozen people were drinking away as though they were going to die the next day. Well, they just might, but that was beside the point. The _real_ point here was that inebriated people have always been easier to steal off of. 

You hung around outside the run down building for a while, waiting for some unlucky sucker to stumble out that door. Turns out, two people stepped out, them both pressing against each other to stay upright. Man and a woman? A couple? Well, if you could get something decent off them, you honestly didn't care.

You pulled out a knife, considering how you wanted to do this. The man had a bag strapped to his hip, which certainly looked promising. Just run by, cut the bag's straps off as you grab it, and then flee the scene. You'd done it before, so you relaxed and reminded yourself that this always worked. Everything was going to go according to plan.  
The unlucky sucker you were waiting for turned out to be you.

You dashed by them, cutting and grabbing the bag in one fluid movement. That gave you two major steps completed, but you hadn't completed the most important one. The man grabbed you by the wrist before you cleared past him, catching you with alarming accuracy and speed. Since when were drunk people supposed to be agile?

Your eyes darted to his face and you realized your mistake. A drunken lady slipped off his shoulder and onto the ground, and he stared at you with the unmistakable look of sobriety.

That's all you saw before his fist landed in your face. The blow knocked you backwards onto the ground. The knife and bag that had previously been in your hand fell to the dirt beside you. There was definitely blood spilling from your quite possibly broken nose. Yup, that's what you get for picking the wrong target. Now you had a new injury to nurse before you're up to try again another day.

He didn't let you crawl off to lick your wounds with the one blow. The moment you started to push yourself off the ground, he slammed his foot onto your stomach. Your broken nose had hurt, but goddamn, that hurt so much worse. He kicked you in the side next, knocking you onto your belly. You've been through worse, you told yourself, just gonna wait for them to get over it and stop.

He didn't stop, and it occurred to you that maybe he wouldn't stop. He was pissed off and you were at a serious disadvantage on the ground. If he wanted to, he could probably go all night. Between hits, you saw the drunk lady approaching with your knife in hand.

They were going to kill you.

The realization hit you in the chest with a jolt. You were only, what, 16 years old? You'd seen plenty younger die, but there were so many things you still hadn't done. You hadn't risen to the top in this fucked up world, you hadn't found your long lost sister... Were you okay dying like this?

You really didn't want to die, but that's just your luck.

"What, are you just going to give up? Just like that? Really, I wasn't expecting you to go so quietly."

Things had frozen in place. Your assault had stopped, but you found yourself unable to move. Your lips, oddly enough, were still responding so you put them to use.

"Fuck off, it was gonna happen sooner or later, right? At least it wasn't something slow like lack of water or starvation. I'm lucky it’s gonna be over any second."

"Do you honestly believe that?" The source of the strange voice came into view. The creature was a glowing form vaguely in the shape of a person. It lacked a face for the most part, save for two piercing purple eyes staring down at you. "If it's really so lucky, then why are you so scared?"

"Scared? I'm not scared, not even a little," You still hurt. The lack of new blows helped some, but stopping the attack did nothing to still the pain. You wonder how much it'll hurt to have your throat cut open. "Besides, I mean, what can I do about that now?"

"You can change things, put fortune in your favor once."

"And how exactly do you propose I accomplish that?"

"By making a contract with me," You'd assumed the spirit there was just some demon sent from hell to antagonize you on your deathbed, but maybe it was actually here to help? "I could give you power no mortal has known before."

"Will it be enough to get me out of this mess? This whole shitty situation?"

"Yes, but there are some conditions-"

"I don't even fucking care, I'll make the contract."

If it had a mouth, you swear it would have been grinning.

"So be it."

The spirit knelled over your body, and briefly you wondered how exactly this contract was supposed to be formed. If they ended up having to reach into your chest and rip out your heart to eat, that would totally blow. It reached a spectral hand up to your mouth, parting your lips and... slipping inside. You panic for a second, you really would have liked some warning if this was gonna be something sexual, but it changed from within your mouth. It was less solid and more like air.

You breathed in, and the spirit disappeared into you. It was a weird sensation, it felt almost as though your airways were vibrating. In the end, it left a warm glow in your chest and spur of energy shot through your veins.

Time resumed its turn, and you let off a flash of light. Your attackers flinched, stumbling backwards and covering their faces. Invigorated, you leaped to your feet, the pain dull in the back of your mind in the sudden rush you were getting. You extended a hand toward them, feeling a vague shifting of invisible tides.

They both fell backwards disastrously. The man hit his head on a rock, and was knocked out cold. The woman's fate was a little messier, the knife slipped from her grip and sunk into her shoulder as she landed. Blood gushed from the wound immediately. They wouldn't be bothering you ever again.

For once in your life, you felt as though you had all the luck in the world.


	5. Dark Waters

You hated the orphanage with every fiber in your being. Your caretakers were nothing but cruel slave drivers who made you and the other children work yourselves to the born. After working in such cold, awful, and dangerous conditions, they often neglected to even feed you saying you were all fed just yesterday, you didn't need food yet. When the day was finally over, you were all packed into a tiny room with no light. There weren't any beds, and there wasn't even room for you to lay upon the floor. You slept sitting up, leaning against each other's backs for support.

You tried to escape once. You think you might have been eight or nine years old at the time, though you had no way of knowing for sure. Three of the older children had quietly explained to you that they were going to try and get out of there, and they wanted to bring some of the younger kids with them. They couldn't bring every child stuck in the cramped room, but had promised that when they could they'd come back for the others.

You were one of four selected to come with them in the dead of night. You were nervous, and your heart was pounding loudly in your chest, but you were excited. This was what you always hoped for, to get away from this awful place and live free, and the time had come.

"Follow close, Eridan," They said in hushed voices as the oldest took care of the door. They'd secretly stolen a spare key to the lock sealing you all into the sleeping room. "Everything will be fine, but we need to be very, very quiet."

You let them guide you by the hand through the building, not caring to protest that you were too old for hand holding. You could hear the adults talking not far away, and you held your breath whenever your group came near the sounds.

You made it out of the building and onto the beach. It was cold outside that night, there wasn't even the sun to warm your goose bump covered skin. It was quiet outside, and out of habit you glanced around for any adults. During the day when they sent you into the underwater cave they always had adults overseeing to make sure you didn't go running off. You know, like you were doing now.

Your group climbed over the tidal pools, taking care not to step near the sharp spots in the dark. You'd never been allowed to go past these pools before.

Even in the dim of the moonlight you could make out where the sand reached the grass. It was even darker in the trees than it was on the beach, and that made you feel nervous. Excited, yes, but very nervous.

A branch snapped, and you flinched at the sound. *Silently, you tried to reassure yourself that you were too far from the orphanage for any of the adults to hear you. When another branch snapped, louder than the first, everyone in your group froze.

It wasn't one of you who was stepping on twigs.

Everyone suddenly started running in different directions, the organization of this escape plan seemingly forgotten. The older child holding your hand let go as they tried to sprint away. The adults were in action before you realized you should have been running too.

They came from the trees where the moonlight didn't reach, hiding them from view until it was too late. The orphanage staff ran onto the beach, the glimmer of sharp steel glinting in the frozen light. A girl was grabbed by the hair, her scream turning wet and garbled as a blade slit through her throat. Another had their arm grasped roughly and twisted brutally as they were shoved to the ground. The older girl who'd held your hand on the way to the slaughter point was stabbed in the side, then left to collapse to the ground and bleed.

She turned to you, blood spilling from her lips. "Run," Her pained voice hissed urgently, pointing to where two of the other younger children had headed to the dark waves in hopes of escape. You didn't need to be told twice before you were on the move.

Your feet met the water, but you didn't make it farther than that before you grabbed by the shoulder and thrown backwards. You cried out in shock, hitting the sand hard and wincing. There were four adults standing around you, looking down at you with cruel expressions. You allowed yourself a quick glance to the others, wanting to call out for help, but there wasn't anyone to rescue you anymore.

Save for you and the two children who swam away, everyone in your group of escapees were killed.

You squeezed your eyes shut as they kicked you sharply once, twice. It hurt, but you were confused as they started dragging you. You'd been expecting a knife to tear into you, not blunt force. Then you realized where they were taking you.

They pushed you into the shallow water and held your head under. You resisted the urge to gasp in shock as the frozen sea hit you, trying to instead hold your breath. They made you and the others collect things from under the water daily, you'd learned how to hold your breath... but that was when you had the ability to swim back up when you need the air. You weren't given that luxury now, and despite your best efforts your mouth opened and you inhaled the saltwater.

It burned, oh god it burned so bad. Your entire insides were on fire as the thick fluid filled your lungs. You'd scream out in pain, but you couldn't make a sound as you struggle to breath in air that wasn't there. Against your will you started coughing, which only made the sensation worse.

Your head was lifted above the and you coughed hard, practically vomiting out water and trying to replace it with air. You caught a breath, then were pushed under once more.

They repeated this process of forcing you below the surface and lifting you out many times, and you were thoroughly light headed. When they finally dragged you back onto dry land you couldn't understand what they said before you lost consciousness. You imagine it was a warning never to try and run again.

The next day, the drowned bodies of the two other children washed on shore.

\- - - - - - - -

When you were roughly fifteen or sixteen years old, you still hadn't attempted any wild escape or revenge plans since that disastrous failed attempt as a young child. You hated the orphanage and its staff, you would like nothing more than watching them get what they deserve, but you weren't stupid. Making a careless move would mean being killed and never get to see the day when karma strikes. You would play along to their stupid game until that day comes.

The little children looked up to you, and you took quiet pride in that. You were the best at planning how to get the materials you were sent to gather in the most efficient way possible, so it's been ages since any of your team got punished for not meeting the quota.

The seaweed was simple enough for any of you to gather, though many of the other edible sea plants were too tough for the youngest to break off. The faster kids were best assigned to catching sea creatures and shellfish. Those who could hold their breath the longest collected the rocks and minerals. It was the easiest way to do things, and you could manage it easily enough.

After a productive day of gathering, you'd returned to the building. Today was a feeding day, one you'd all been eagerly awaiting. You'd earned this food, you damn well deserve to eat it.

The adults stopped you half way through the meal, much to your displeasure. What did they want this time? You'd done your job, why couldn't they just leave you alone?

"You brats didn't collect enough crystals."

"But," One of the thinnest girls in the group squeaked from her seat on the floor, "But we got as much you told us to before! That's-" Another child, grabbed her by the shoulders, prompting her to shut up. Good thing too, they didn't like complaining, even if they were being unfair ########. You did collect enough to reach your quota, you checked yourself.

"We're raising the bar, the previous amount was too easy for you," They sneered. "Get your ##### back outside, you can finish eating when you've finished."

The kids all exchanged glances and you tensed. The crystals were found primarily in a cave that's access underwater, but it was dangerous around this time. The tide water coming up and it was getting dark, making it pretty much the worst time to go in there... but what choice did you have?

"We'll go get the crystals."

"If you don't, don't bother coming back alive."

\- - - - - - - -

You managed to get everyone in the cave, but that was a real piece of work. Many of the younger children couldn’t hold their breath and swim through the tunnel leading to the cave, so you had to carry them through quickly yourself. It was an exhausting task on its own, but the real challenge happened after you were all gathered at the spot.

There was a faint light filtering from the moon through thin cracks in the ceiling, but the light didn't pierce the water depths far enough. The only option you were left with was to drive, break off and grab rocks blindly, then swim up and see if you grabbed the right thing or not. If that wasn't hard enough already, there was the time pressure to consider. When the tide was at its highest, the cave fills up fully.

You take a deep breath and slip underwater, noting the sound of others following your lead.

You push yourself downwards, grasping for something hard. It takes a minute of digging through sand before you find it, and you jerk it hard to the side to break off a piece. Then, you swim back upwards in a hurry.

It's a crystal, good. The child assigned to holding the collection bag holds it out to you, and you drop it inside.

You go again, aiming for the same area you'd been in already. You feel around for the same thing as before, taking a piece and swimming upwards.  
It's not a crystal, you must have been in the wrong spot. ####.

You go down again and again, but searching in the dark isn't easy. Sometimes you got what you wanted, the other times don't. The times where you don't had a serious price to pay, the water was rising rapidly. 

The whole group was getting tired, too. Even with all the work put into holding your breath longer, holding it again and again was wearing you all out. The periods of time you could spend holding your breath were getting shorter.

Many of the children had given up, trying to doggy paddle and keep their heads above the surface. Some were crying, others were sending worried looks your war, and you weren't sure what to tell them.

You couldn't get enough crystals and get out in time. Even if you went now and forgot the crystals, there still wasn't enough time even then. The tunnel in and out of the cave was too long for most to hold their breath, and even the oldest would have trouble at this point. Staying around wasn't gonna work out either, soon there wouldn't be enough airspace for anyone to hold their head above the water.

People were going to die tonight, and you all knew it.

A boy swam down and didn't come back up, you assumed he was trying to get out. A little girl started openly sobbing, begging for someone to get her out of there. Another, younger boy was back up against the wall, eyeing the others as though trying to gauge who would be easier to drown that the others. You don't blame him for the cornered animal look, if he were to kill everyone else he would have enough space to breath and live another day. Too bad for him he was on the shrimpy side, any violent acts he could get involved in wouldn't result in his favor.

You consider yourself trying to make an escape, but you knew it was too late. You couldn't make it.

All you could do now was give up.

"Are you sure you want to give up now?"

What else were you supposed to do?

"There's always an option, even if you don't see it. Besides, if you don't do something, who will?"

What did it matter? If you could do something you would, but there was nothing left.

"Make the contract, and you'll be capable of so much more."

It was quiet aside from the voice, and for a moment it felt like everything else around you was frozen in time. There was light and you turned to face it, staring right in its green eyes.

"What are you asking of me in this... contract?"

The spirit explained its terms, how it would give you power if you agreed to restore the dying land and give life to the next generation of gods so that they could be reborn. You weren't sure how you were supposed to fix this earth, but you didn't want to go on like you were. You hated the orphanage and what they put you through. You deserved better than this.

Hope, it says. It wants to give you the power of hope. You'd given up on that years ago when a failed escape plan ended in blood and gore.

This might be your only chance to regain that hope.

You make the contract.

\- - - - - - - -

You call to them, force them to listen to your wishes and hopes alone. They've ignored you for far to long, and they have hell to make up for now.

The angels tore through the stone ceiling of the cavern, ripping through it like cheap cloth and throwing it aside. The children cried out, be it relief or fear you didn't care. Yes, you and your group could get out alive now, but you weren't gonna stop there. A translucent arm grasps yours and pulls you up, and you leave the others to climb out on their own as you head back toward the orphanage.

The air was cold on your wet skin, but you barely notice it. Rather, you find yourself noting the full moon. On a night just like this, the adults had killed many children who only wanted a taste of freedom. This time things would be far, far different.

Your new ghostly servants tear down the doors before you as you advanced.

You march through the building, your poltergeist spirits ripping down walls and doors in your wake. The children were set free, but the adults weren't shown such mercy. Blood sprays against the walls and floor as they're torn open as punishment for their crimes.

None of them had ever payed you so much as a sympathetic glance, much less an act of actual kindness. They didn't deserve to keep living another minute as far as you were concerned, so you encourage the angels to slaughter them all.

You take your first breath of freedom. It smells of gore and blood with a hint of sea salt, but the air feels better flowing in and out of your lungs than it ever has before.

\- - - - - - - -

The children had been scared initially, but they sure looked happy now. You watched them run across the sandy beach, laughing and cheering. They weren't given many chances to just play before, and they were making up for it now.

You watch them with a small smile, pulling the cape you stole closer around yourself. You stole the pretty thing right off the back of one of the orphanage's former directors. It's still a little damp from when you washed it in the salt water to get rid of the scent of death, but it feels pretty nice in the wind.

"There's a girl, there's a girl!" You look up as across the beach several of the younger kids were scrambling up the tidal pools. You frowned slightly, lifting yourself from where you sat.

True to their word, there was a young girl walking along the shore and headed in your direction. Your breath hitched and your eyes widened as you saw her, though it wasn't how she appeared to be your age that caught your attention. It wasn't her looks, long black hair reaching her knees and a sweet smile, either. What really got you was the sudden fire of recognition in your chest, your mind, your heart.

She was a demigod.

When she looked up at you she freezes, and she mirrored the face you were making as she senses the spirit you'd made a contract with. After the initial surprise faded, her smile returned bigger than ever. She hurried forward, climbing up the tidal pools and heading your way.

You watched, barely noticing the babble of the kids behind you. She beamed at you once she'd reached the level you were standing from, and you didn't think you've ever seen anyone more beautiful.

"My name is Feferi Peixes, and I'm looking forward to working with you!"

You fell in love instantly.


End file.
